哺乳之恩 - Maudgalyāyana and His Mother: Filiality in East Asian Buddhism
大目乾連始得六通，欲度父母，報哺乳之恩。
（出於《盂蘭盆經》）
The great Maudgalyāyana had just achieved the six supernatural knowledges. He wished to ferry his father and mother to the far shore of enlightenment, so as to repay the kindness of his mother’s milk.
(from the Ullambana Sūtra)
Filial piety (孝), or devotion to one’s parents, has been a cardinal virtue in Chinese culture since antiquity; the importance of being a filial child was only cemented by the state adoption of Confucianism in the Han dynasty. As Buddhism began to enter China during this period and as it continued to grow, it adapted itself to this indigenous cultural value. Chinese Buddhist apologists emphasized scriptures and doctrines that supported filial piety in defending the religion, which was often seen as unfilial and foreign.
Both of the texts below feature Buddha’s disciple Maudgalyāyana, or in Chinese Mulian (目連), trying to save his mother from bad rebirths; both are folk creations which reveal popular beliefs about filial piety and how it was incorporated into Buddhist practice. In both, it is through specific ceremonies and rituals that one’s parents can be freed from purgatorial existences.